Semantic richness: The role of semantic features in processing spoken words

• We examine semantic influences on word recognition.
• Semantic information is activated early and aids in spoken word recognition.
• Increasing processing demands by embedding the stimuli in babble noise enhances semantic effects.

A lexical decision and two visual world paradigm experiments are reported that investigated the role of semantic representations in recognizing spoken words. Semantic richness (NOF: number of features) influenced lexical decision reaction times in that semantically rich words (high NOF) were processed faster than semantically impoverished words (low NOF). Processing in the VWP was faster for high NOF words but only when an onset competitor was present in the display (target BREAD, onset competitor BRICK). Adding background speech babble to the spoken stimuli resulted in an advantage for processing high NOF words with and without onset competitors in the display. The results suggest that semantic representations directly contribute to the recognition of spoken words and that sub-optimal listening conditions (e.g., background babble) enhance the role of semantics.